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This is the podcast about foreign policy, international relations, politics, security, defense... My name is Andrej Matišák. I'm a journalist, deputy head of foreign desk in Slovak daily Pravda. So far this is mostly a small side project. Maybe it will grow. I'll see. Anyway, I hope that you will like it and you will support it by listening, sharing and subscribing. Of course, there are gazillions of projects like this but I think that this is the only one from Slovakia. :-)
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Can Slovakia become the next Hungary and the Trojan horse of Russia in EU and NATO?
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Slovak early elections will take place on September 30. It seems the winner will be either the left-wing populist Smer of former Prime Minister Robert Fico or liberal Progressive Slovakia. What does it mean for the country internally and externally? Can Slovakia become the next Hungary and the Trojan horse of Russia in the EU and NATO? I talked to …
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NATO vs. Russia in Romania? What can/should the Alliance do in the Black Sea region?
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Is Russia dangerously close to NATO? The drone incident in Romania shows it won't be wise to underestimate the situation. "Russia is escalating and testing NATO," Iulia-Sabina Joja thinks. She is a Senior Fellow and Director of Middle East Institute's Black Sea Program and she teaches European security as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Universi…
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Andrew Lebovich is a Research Fellow with Clingendael's Conflict Research Unit and also a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). When the coup in Niger happened at the end of July, he was doing research in this West African country. So I was really happy when he said yes to my request for an interview. I…
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What is behind Republicans' rhetoric about sending military to Mexico?
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28:26
The Republicans want to send the military to... Mexico? It was quite a prominent topic of the first presidential debate of the GOP candidates. So what is behind this rhetoric? Is Mexico a functioning state taking into account the strong presence of drug cartels that are shipping highly lethal fentanyl to the US? I talked to Vanda Felbab-Brown, a Di…
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Did Putin specifically order the killing of Prigozhin?
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If this was a sort of deathmatch between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, the result is very clear now. Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash on August 23rd. But did Putin specifically order the killing of Prigozhin? I talked to political analyst Anton Barbashin who is an editorial director of Riddle, which is…
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Is Cambodia's Hun Sen's dictatorship somehow unique?
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Lee Morgenbesser is an Associate Professor in Comparative Politics at the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University. His most recent book is titled The Rise of Sophisticated Authoritarianism in Southeast Asia, so he is a perfect match for the next episode of my podcast. We discussed how Prime Minister Hun Sen took over…
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Why is Saudi Arabia buying footballers like crazy?
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Cristiano Ronaldo led the way, other big football stars, though many of them are aging stars, follow. Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino or Jordan Henderson, just to name a few. Why is Saudi Arabia spending crazy money on football players? Is this a clear example of sportwashing? Can the Saudis' effort be sustainable? I talked to James Do…
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Oppenheimer is based on his book. I talked to Kai Bird, co-author of American Prometheus
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I've got three recommendations for you. I recommend watching Oppenheimer. I recommend reading the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, co-authored by Kai Bird and the late Martin Sherwin, on which the movie is based. And I recommend listening to this episode of my podcast as I had a chance to talk to Kai Bird.…
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What is happening on the battlefield? I talked to Franz-Stefan Gady about Ukraine's offensive and Russia's defense
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Franz-Stefan Gady is founder and chief executive officer of Gady Consulting and also a consulting senior fellow with the Institute for International Strategic Studies. With the other experts he recently visited Ukraine's frontlines, so I am glad he agreed to discuss what he saw and what could be next for Ukraine's offensive and Russia's defense. Li…
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Spanish elections: How would the far-right Vox in government change Spain?
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The Spanish elections will take place on July 23rd and it seems we will witness the same situation as in some other European countries. It means that the mainstream right will have to collaborate with the far-right to govern. In the case of Spain, we are talking about the People's Party cooperating with Vox. But would the far-right Vox in governmen…
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What if the AfD ruled Germany? And how is it connected with the Russian war?
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23:23
The current polls show that the far-right Alternative for Germany, in German Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), is the second most popular party in the country. While it is an extremely unlikely scenario, I wanted to know what would happen if the AfD would rule Germany. So I talked to Kai Arzheimer who is a Professor of Political Science at the Uni…
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What are Ukrainians trying to achieve and what are Russians doing? Ben Hodges explains
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24:44
As the NATO summit in Vilnius is approaching and the war intensifies, I talked to Ben Hodges who is a former commanding general, United States Army Europe. He explained how he sees the Ukrainian offensive and what are Russians doing to counter it. We have also discussed what weapons Kyiv needs for the possible breakthrough and why the West is still…
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How far would Russia go to help Iran and vice versa?
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Should Iran face more sanctions if it continues helping Russia to wage a brutal war against Ukraine? I talked to Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington and a lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University. We also discussed how far would Russia go to help Iran and vice versa, how the Russian wa…
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Does Putin have skills to be hired by CIA? John Sipher explains
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John Sipher is a senior non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, and the co-founder of Spycraft Entertainment, a production firm providing content to the entertainment industry. He retired in 2014 after a 28-year career in the CIA’s National Clandestine Service, which included serving in Moscow and running the CIA’s Russia operations. So I aske…
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Does Putin's regime resemble the late era of Stalin?
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Andrei Kolesnikov is a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. For now, he stays in Russia, although he was labeled as a foreign agent. According to Andrei, Russian society is basically the same if we compare pre-war times and the current situation. The group of Putin's non-supporters has always been around 15-20 percent and the invasi…
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Ex-defense secretary Mark Esper: Trump would try to pull the US out of NATO and South Korea
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Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper cannot be clearer. He believes Donald Trump would try to pull the US out of NATO and South Korea in his second term. I talked to Esper at the annual GLOBSEC conference in Bratislava and we also discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Republican Party, and China. Listen to our conversation. And if you en…
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What happens in Belarus if Lukashenko dies? Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya talks about plan
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What happens if Belarus' dictator Alexander Lukashenko dies? I talked to the opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. And she has a plan. She fights for her country as her husband Siarhiej is imprisoned by the regime. We also discussed the dangers of the Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus, Ukraine and how she works hard to keep Belarus on agenda…
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As Ukraine is getting ready for counterattack, what can Russia do about this?
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How can Ukraine plan its counteroffensive? Would the F-16 jets help Kyiv? And what can Russia do to counter the impending attack? I talked to Johan Norberg, a Senior Military Analyst from Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI). Why does he think that the West will decide the war? Listen to our conversation. And if you enjoy what I do, please support…
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E. Jean Carroll v. Donald Trump: Are the Republicans the anti-women party?
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She hates him because of his politics! It's all about money and fame! Is this why E. Jean Carroll sued Donald Trump? Not at all, a friend of Carroll Jennifer Taub explains. She is a Law Professor at Western New England University School of Law, author of the Substack newsletter Money & Gossip, and host of the podcast Booked Up with Jen Taub. In our…
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If Putin falls, will people like Prigozhin or Kadyrov survive?
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Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin is naming and shaming everybody. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is offering his services but it's not clear if he really has something to offer. And the Russian President Vladimir Putin is... Is doing exactly what? About Prigozhin, Kadyrov, and Putin, I talked to political analyst Anton Barbashin who is an edit…
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Is Charles III a caretaker king? And what about William and Kate and Harry and Meghan?
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As Wikipedia says, Charles III, born Charles Philip Arthur George on November 14th, 1948 is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Last year, at the age of 73, he became the oldest person to accede to the British throne, also after having been the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales in British history. King C…
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Is French President Emmanuel Macron naive?
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French President Emmanuel Macron was elected for his second term one year ago, on April 24th, 2021. How strong or weak is he now? I talked to Georgina Wright, a Senior Fellow, and Director of Institut Montaigne's Europe Program. We discuss recent Macron's visit to China and its aftermath but also French domestic politics. Is Macron naive? And is th…
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Putin is waging war on Ukraine. Should the NHL suspend his fan, Alex Ovechkin?
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The National Hockey League has a war crimes problem. Because of this piece, in the Globe and Mail, I contacted Mark Kersten. He is a Senior Consultant of the Wayamo Foundation and an Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia. So what's wrong with the NHL and with its superstar…
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From Troubles to the Good Friday Agreement. And what's next for Northern Ireland amid Brexit?
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The Good Friday Agreement that ended the conflict in Northern Ireland turned 25 on April 10th. What were the main factors that contributed to its success? I talked to Shaun Mcdaid, a Senior Lecturer in Politics from the Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences at Huddersfield University. We discussed the history of the Troubles, terrorists fro…
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Finland is in NATO. Let's talk about the pros. And what about the cons?
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From April 4th, Finland is officially the thirty-first member of NATO. What does it mean for the country, for the Alliance, and for Russia? What are the pros and possible cons of Finland's membership? And why is Sweden still out? I talked to Charly Salonius-Pasternak, a leading researcher in The Center on US Politics and Power at the Finnish Instit…
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Ukraine: Who are they and how do foreign fighters contribute to the fight with Russia?
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Kacper Rerawek is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Research on Extremism (C-REX) at the University of Oslo. His book Brown-Red Cocktail? Extremist Foreign Fighters in the War in Ukraine was published last year and for The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) he just released a report A Year of Foreign Fighting for Ukraine: Catching Fish With Ba…
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He can call his book about Iraq: They all died. Fred Wellman talks about the war and its aftermath
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Fred Wellman served in the Army for 22 years as an aviator and public affairs officer and he left the Armed Forces as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was a Blackhawk helicopter pilot, and completed tours during Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom. So, in his own words, he invaded Iraq twice. He also was a spokesman for General David Petraeus, and Ge…
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Former UN inspector in Iraq: CIA lied. The story about wrong intelligence does not withstand scrutiny
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Some people claim that the American invasion of Iraq 20 years ago started what could be called the post-truth world. Robert E. Kelley had been an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspector in Iraq in 1992–93 and he was there also in the final months before the 2003 invasion. We talked about his experience, his work, and how his team had to…
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As Finland and Sweden are joining NATO, what is the biggest concern of Norway regarding Russia?
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Did the probability of Russia attacking Norway decrease? Karsten Friis, a Senior Research Fellow from The Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, thinks it does, but there are also a few buts. So we have discussed what is the biggest concern of Norway regarding Russia, also taking into account that Finland and Sweden are, hopefully, on their …
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The Russian war one year on: What is the meaning of Germany's Zeitenwende?
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In December, The Society for the German Language named Zeitenwende the word of the year for 2022. But one year after the Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine started, does the Zeitenwende also have a real political meaning? What is the role of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in this epochal tectonic shift as he described it by himself? talked to Alexande…
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Russia has to withdraw, beg for forgiveness and pay for the crimes
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It's one year from the beginning of the Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine. "Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks he can bully Ukrainians. But he only makes us angrier." This is what Iuliia Mendel said to me in our podcast debate. She is the former press secretary of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, from June 2019 until July 2021, …
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Could Russia try to stage a coup in Moldova? And how probable is it?
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Could Russia try to stage a coup in Moldova? How probable is it? Is Moldova's government ready for such a scenario? And what about the problem of Transnistria? About the current developments in Moldova, I talked to Denis Cenusa. He is an associate expert at The Eastern Europe Studies Centre (EESC) in Vilnius. Listen to our conversation. And if you …
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Are Ukraine and Russia getting ready for offensives? Rob Lee explains
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31:08
We are all following Rob Lee on Twitter, aren't we? I'm not sure when he sleeps but his feed is all the time full of interesting information, analysis, and videos related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. With all of this, I'm really happy that Rob joined my podcast. No introduction is needed, but he is a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Resea…
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Finland and Sweden NATO's bid: Is Turkey just moving the goalposts and is Russia happy about it?
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Finland and Sweden are still out of NATO despite the agreement from the Alliance summit in June in Madrid. Is Turkey playing a divide-and-conquer game as it seems Ankara is all the time moving the goalposts? Is Russian happy about it? And what about Hungary? I talked to Toni Alaranta, Senior Research Fellow in the European Union Research Programme …
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China, North Korea, Russia... What are the main security concerns of Japan?
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How is the Russian invasion against Ukraine shaping Japan's security views? What are Tokyo's main concerns? China, North Korea, Russia? I talked to John Nilsson-Wright, University Associate Professor in Modern Japanese Politics and International Relations at Cambridge University and Korea Foundation Korea Fellow and Senior Research Fellow for North…
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Would Kazakhstan be next, if Russia had been successful in Ukraine?
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Wilder Alejandro Sanchez is an analyst of defense, trade and geopolitical issues in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Western Hemisphere and the President of Second Floor Strategies, a consulting firm in Washington, DC. As his expertise stretched from the post-Soviet space to Latin America, I picked Alex's brain and we talked about how the menti…
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Babiš, Nerudová or Pavel? What to expect from the presidential election in Czechia?
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The first round of the presidential election in Czechia takes place on 13 and 14 January. There are three clear favorites for the run-off. Ex-Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, former rector of Mendel University in Brno Danuše Nerudová, and former Chair of the NATO Military Committee Petr Pavel. I talked to Seán Hanley, an Associate Professor in Comparat…
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Is Putin the biggest loser of 2022? Tom Nichols weighs in
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Russian President Vladimir Putin achieved less than nothing. This is how Tom Nichols assesses the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Tom is a staff writer at The Atlantic and Professor Emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, where he taught for 25 years. So is Putin the biggest loser of 2022? Are we witnessing Cold War 2.0? R…
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How to bake "Russian warship, go fuck yourself" gingerbread? I talked to Maria Avdeeva from Kharkiv
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Maria Avdeeva is Ukrainian disinformation and security expert from Kharkiv. From the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion she is trying to document what is going on. I talked to Maria jusť before the big aggression and also a few times in the past months. And while the situation is complicated, I'm glad that we had a chance to reconnect. T…
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Would Xi Jinping attack Ukraine if he would rule Russia?
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19:39
Every comparison is a problematic one, but it is also interesting to educationally speculate. I talked to Rory Truex, an Assistant Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. His research focuses on Chinese politics and authoritarian systems. We also discussed one very hypothetical question. Would Xi Jinping attack Ukra…
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My conversation with Anne Applebaum: What if Putin disappears? How would it affect the war?
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The Russians themselves must conclude that the war against Ukraine was a mistake, a disaster. That's why they have to lose otherwise there will be another war. This is how Anne Applebaum sees the invasion. She is a staff writer for The Atlantic and a Pulitzer-prize winning historian. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanc…
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Is Ukraine hitting Russia where it hurts the most?
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What kind of weapons does Ukraine need to keep the momentum on the battlefield? What is the prospect of some negotiations with Russia? Will and should Ukraine continue to strike targets inside Russia? About this and much more, I talked to Toms Rostoks, an Associate Professor in International Relations at the University of Latvia and Senior Research…
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What is the biggest problem Xi Jinping is facing going forward?
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The current protests in China against the zero covid policy will be squashed. This is what I think, but more importantly, this is also what Lawrence C. Reardon thinks. Because he definitely knows China. Chris, as I know him, is a Professor of Political Science at New Hampshire University and a research associate at Harvard University's Fairbank Cen…
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What to criticize about Qatar's World Cup? And what's next for protests in Iran?
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Does the football World Cup in Qatar deserve so much criticism? Is it somewhat illegitimate? And what about the beer for fans? I talked to Arash Azizi, a scholar and the PhD candidate in history at New York University (NYU). He researches the history of socialist and Islamist movements in Iran and the Arab world. But we didn't discuss just Qatar an…
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The midterms' result? American democracy held. But what's next?
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Jennifer Mercieca was right. She is Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at Texas A&M University and an author of the book Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump. We recorded this podcast one day before Donald Trump's presidential announcement and Jennifer was pretty sure, as you can listen, how this e…
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Rich and powerful. Should we be afraid of Elon Musk's intentions?
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Julian Ringhof is a policy fellow with the European Power program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. His research focuses on the implications of digital and emerging technologies for international affairs. He just published an article titled The age of ego-politics: Elon Musk and the power of the tech giants. With that in mind, I thought…
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Can American democracy properly function when millions believe in an alternate reality?
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Professor Seth Cotlar is a historian at Willamette University in Oregon so as we talked about American politics, his answer contains many historical references. It only helps to better understand what's going on in the US. The midterm elections take place on November 8 and President Joe Biden said that democracy will be on the ballot. Is this a bit…
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Facing and being Russia in a wargame: Did the players blow off the world?
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Imagine that you are in a wargame simulation and you play Russia. This is what happened to Alexander Bollfrass. He is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - ETH Zurich. I talked to him after he participated in such a wargame. What were its main conclusions? Did the players blow of…
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Ukraine war: About drones and other military systems and how to use them
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As Russia is conducting essentially terrorist attacks targeting Ukrainian cities with drones, I spoke to Mauro Gilli. He is a Senior Researcher in Military Technology and International Security at the Center for Security Studies of ETH-Zurich. We talked about drones and other military systems and about how both sides used them on the battlefield. D…
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China: It's another (at least) five years for Xi Jinping. What does it mean?
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Is Xi Jinping fully in control? ,,99,5 percent," said Kerry Brown to me when I asked him if we can be 100 percent sure that Xi gets a third term as general secretary at China's Communist Party Congress that starts on October 16th. He is a Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King's College, London. So what does Xi…
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